3 Resources to Help You Drive Change
Let's face it: change is hard. It challenges our familiar habits, requires us to reevaluate our thinking, and often brings difficult emotions.
When faced with a reorganization, merger, rapid growth or a change in leadership, people can meet transition with resistance and anxiety rather than alignment and excitement. Yet organizations must adapt to market shifts, technological advancements, social change, and constant competition in order to remain relevant and successful.
A study by the management consulting firm McKinsey & Company found that more agile organizations rank higher in organizational health and performance than those that aren’t. So, how can we foster learning organizations that embrace shifts and transformations, rather than resist them?
At The People Piece, we love helping leaders, organizations and teams foster resilience and adaptability in the face of change. To help you and your colleagues navigate change with grace and enthusiasm, we want to give a shout out to 3 essential resources.
We hope they’ll help you and your colleagues understand the psychology of change, why we’re more resistant to some changes than others, and how we can make agility a habit. And perhaps most important of all, how we can stay human in the face of change - especially when it's hard.
Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard
By Chip Heath and Dan Heath
In Switch, brothers Chip and Dan Heath outline what it truly takes to make a change: the emotional drive to do it and an easy path to success, not just the idea that we "should" change. From change at the personal, organizational, and even social level, the Heath brothers offer a simple yet comprehensive approach to understanding change, as well as a host of practical tools for driving it.
Immunity to Change: How to Overcome It and Unlock the Potential in Yourself and Your Organization
By Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey
Why do individuals, teams and organizations so often fail to make the change they so desperately want? Authors Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey say that the answer lies in the "hidden commitments" that often stand in the way. In Immunity to Change, Kegan and Lahey outline a revolutionary approach for addressing the often deep-seated behaviors and assumptions that get in the way of successful transitions, providing a map for actually making the change we want to see.
Managing Transitions: Making the Most of Change
By William Bridges, PhD with Susan Bridges
Published over 25 years ago, Managing Transitions is an indispensable classic that examines change from an organizational perspective. Author William Bridges urges leaders and teams to address the missing piece most likely to sink a successful change effort—and also the one that is often unaddressed—until it’s too late: that's right, the people piece. Bridges also examines what it takes for change leaders to help their people to overcome anxiety, resistance, and despair, and move forward effectively as a team.
We hope these resources inspire and support you to drive change at work and in your daily life. Get in touch if you'd like to find out more about how our trainings, coaching and facilitated sessions have helped leaders at companies including Whole Foods Market to lead effectively during times of change.
Good luck in all your change endeavors,
Roni Krouzman and The People Piece team
We develop great leaders, managers, and teams